A Day to Remember
by TRYharD-SHERLY
Summary: When the feared final moments of summer vacation start catching up on the Pines. It is imperative that something be done in order to tie both of them over until the next visit. If there will be a next visit. Through the reluctant agreement of a young Dipper Pines to certain rich blonde's request, and an ambitious Mabel, this day might pave the way for something great indeed.
1. Thoughts of plenty

A/N: For the soul reason that there is no way for me to predict what will possibly happen in the episode after ** _NOT WHAT HE SEEMS,_** this story will take place before that episode. While, for reasons particular to the story itself, it will take place after _**NORTHWEST MANSION MYSTERY.**_ Enjoy

* * *

"It is, at the moment, way too early. The shack won't open for another couple of hours or so, and I am left to my own devices. Now, you may ask, why would I take the liberty of waking up so early instead of sleeping in? Well the answer just might surprise…"

The crisp snap of the firm HB-level graphite resounded through the empty concessions room and further into the old rickety shack. The muffled groaning, and inaudible vulgar ramblings, of a certain con-artist could be heard through the wooden planks of the ceiling.

"There's no way he heard that- unless…" his thoughts tapered off as he looked back down at the book in his hands; sighing. He let the broken pencil slide into one of the glued on Velcro straps and let the pages flip until the book became shut. He took a moment to admire the personal tome and what it actually meant to him. It was merely just two pieces of crimson leather bound together by three golden rings; a silver colored plaque, molded in the shape of a four fingered hand, with his name written on it in permanent black marker. He smiled at the fact of the matter. This was his sister's idea after all. He was relieved that she didn't teeter off too far with decorations, as is typical, but he was grateful nonetheless.

His summer was one that could be called incredible, almost unbelievable, to most. From slaying mythical creatures, to discovering the ultimate secrets that the town of Gravity Falls had to offer. He, of course, had a mighty powerful weapon; the journal, a written work cataloging just some of the many oddities of this town. He had used it's archives of first hand encounters, from the unknown author, to not only crack down on Gravity Falls' paranormal nemeses; but to protect those he cares for.

So when it came down to the final week of both him and his sister's stay at this town, she suggested he write a journal all his own; archiving all of his own close encounters with the paranormal and all of his thoughts on the side. He was hugely impressed with her resolve; knowing all to well the reason.

Somewhere inside both of their collective subconscious they knew, even if very little, that if word got out of their life threatening adventures; it wouldn't be clear if they would be aloud back to Gravity Falls ever again. The thought of this made him uneasy; as it always did.

He decided that that was enough self pondering for one day and leaned back into the chair he was sitting on. He nonchalantly planted his feet atop the counter and slid his hands behind his head. Taking a deep, worry free breath, he began his relaxed wait for opening time.

This proved to be difficult, as he sense the oncoming of a presence that was all too familiar.

"PLOP!" He couldn't help but let out chuckle. He let his hand feel across his face for the sticker freshly added to it. He glanced over to his sister; whom was covered almost entirely with said stickers. This livened up his entire morning.

"So does this mean you're done being downer Dipper?" Mabel asked, hand placed over hip, displaying the attitude of a sister who thinks she just knows it all.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!" he reassured; giving her a simple shrug.

"Yeah okay." She snorted. "I could hear your generic tweenaged angsting all the way from our room!"

"Tsh! With what? Some seventh sense know only to twins?" He scoffed.

"Of course. Its the same one that lets me feel this!" Her tightly wound fist made a light thump onto Dippers slim arm.

"Ah! What the heck Mabel!" He winced.

"That was for taunting your marvelous sister, whom…" she paused for dramatic effect; pointing at a sticker on her sweater with the word _**CARE**_ strewn across it. "Cares for you very much, and is just trying to cheer you up."

Dipper's gaze quickly drew from her's and onto to the ground. He could feel her pouting glare burrowing through his head. He cleared his throat.

"I was feeling down about the whole _**final**_ _ **week**_ thing! Okay." he confessed halfheartedly. He didn't raise his head to look at her. Some sour feeling in his belly prevented from doing so. Him and Mabel's arguments, being few and far apart, were never something he enjoyed. The silence between them was growing ever more disarming, until…

"PLOP!" Dipper's eyes widened; focusing on the sticker that now lay on the bridge of his nose. His eyes quickly shot up to meet hers. A huge puffy faced smile sat, fixed, on her face. Before he could say anything, she whispered. "Here come the stickers!"

What ensued was what could only be described as a battle of cunning. Dipper had only moments to react to the onslaught that was being brought upon him. Pretty soon the majority of his face became over whelmed, and Mabel showed no signs of letting up. Yet, the stickers came. It wasn't until Mabel stopped, for a split second, to reload; that Dipper broke free. He rushed quickly over the counter top, passed the living room and into the kitchen. He only had a few seconds before Mabel recovered from the confusion, so he needed to be quick. He rummaged through which ever cabinet he could find until he found a suitable counter weapon. He quickly ran back to the living room to find some sort of cover, but it was too late. Mabel stood on the sill of the door armed to the teeth with more ammunition; ready to pounce. Dipper wasn't caught off guard, however, he drew his own line of offense. Mabel smirked; she knew her stickers wouldn't fare well against the _**Super Heavy Duty Anti-Bits**_ brand of toilet paper. But it wasn't entirely up to that now. They both stared at each other; neither breaking eye contact. They knew, who ever made the first move, would come out in defeat. Suddenly, almost simultaneously, they both broke out in battle cries. Running at each other with their own powerful arsenal, they finally clashed.

Through the plume of over expensive sanitizing paper and gimmicky adhesive plastic stood two twins. Each cared for the other greatly; and in moments like this, suddenly, there were only feelings of greatness.

* * *

A warm breeze managed to make its way though the vast wasteland of product that was the concessions room. At the epicenter of the now inactive battlefield were it's soul fighters. They lay, contempt with the outcome of the battle, vertical to each other atop a mix of overly colorful stickers and unfathomably soft toilet paper; smiles across both of they're faces. One breaks the silent calm.

"Thanks Mabel." Dipper sighed; raising himself off of the plush floor.

"It's what I do." Mabel coined; fallowing suit. She gave her brother a solid pat on the pack before standing.

"Gruncle Stan's gonna flip when he sees this." Dipper chuckled.

"We could always blame on some super natural thingamajig." she reasoned; Dipper smiled as he rose up off the floor.

"I better get a broom-"

 **Knock. Knock. Knock.**

They both looked over to the shop entrance. A rounded silhouette could be seen behind the closed window drapes. Dipper glanced down at his watch; sighing in relief. Still half an hour before opening time. He walked over to the door and turned the knob.

"Sorry. We don't open until-" his voice was caught in his throat. He was without speech. Mabel peered her head through the door and quickly drew back. Holding her mouth with her hands violently; trying to hold in the oncoming cackle.

"And what exactly is darn funny?" the voice reached out, to the bundled over Mabel; rolling on the floor in a comedic heave. "And what about you! Are you not letting me in?"

"Huh… ugh, yeah sure thing Pacifica!" he shook his head clear; opening the door further. Pacifica Northwest came strutting in through the door. Her confident look of determination took a few notches at the house's interior.

"What in the heck happened hear?" she asked; wide eyes looking over the landscape.

"Forget that! Why do you look like the double from _**Louisiana Johnson**_?!" Mabel broke out in laughter at Pacifica's, somewhat, ridiculous get up.

"Tsh! I'll have you know, this attire is crafted from the most durable of all of the cloths! Stitched to perfection! And is up to date with the latest style of any outdoors-man!" this didn't suffice to pacify the still chortling Mabel.

"So does it come with, like, a little whip that gets you out of all those close encounters with barreling boulders?!" Dipper joined Mabel in the merriment, before swiftly stifling his laughter at the face of Pacifica's glare.

"Now that we've all had a good laugh, at my expense…" she turned over to Dipper. "I've come for a request; and I'm not taking _**no**_ for an answer!"

Dipper's heart suddenly began to beat at much heavier pace. His belly began to recreate that sensation he felt earlier. Only this time, it felt different. He cleared his throat to prevent his voice from cracking, as it usually did, but failed.

"What do you need?" Dipper's insides began turning on him. Giving him a sensation he'd only felt a certain few times; nervousness.

"I want you to take me on one of your **_super_ _natural_ _adventures_**." she finally let out. Dipper's heart rate dropped from it's previous overactive state and drew calm again. The tension he was feeling around his belly subsided fairly enough, and he was given time to think over Pacifica's sudden request. "Well? Will you take me?"

"No." Dipper said; frankly. Pacifica's face of determination fell once more at this unexpected reply.

Mabel had long since stopped laughing. She took it upon herself to enjoy this interaction with utmost clarity.

"No? what- what do you mean no?" she asked dumbfounded.

"I mean I can't take you on one of my _ **super natural adventures**_."

"Why not?" she continued on, demanding a reason.

"Because it's too dangerous." he replied once more.

"So what?" she crossed her arms; raising a brow. "You know I can handle it!"

"You could still end up getting hurt!" Dipper yelled. His voice echoed through the confines of shack until there was nothing left but silence. Pacifica lowered her stance; still looking him in the eye. Mabel just stared in awe.

Dipper's stance remained unbroken. What was coursing through him now was another feeling he recognized. One that he had felt all those times Stan or Mabel, or even Soos were in trouble; and he felt directly responsible for their safety. If Pacifica were to have asked this earlier in the summer, he still would've denied her. But for a different reason. Then he would have hated the mere presence of Pacifica Northwest. Now, that the last time they spoke was during the party of Northwest Manor, he no longer wished harm over her. Only the opposite.

"Sorry." he said; ending the previously prominent silence.

"It's fine." she replied quietly. Her head hung low as she made her way past him and out through the shack door. Mabel trotted over to Dipper; who shared a similar expression to the one Pacifica wore. She slid her hand over his shoulder.

"Hey Dip. I think you might want to reconsider." she whispered.

"Mabel. If she gets hurt-"

"So what if she gets ruffed up a bit. I mean, look at me. I'm practically a callus." she joked. Giving herself a bonk on the forehead "Besides. You're really gonna say no to that?"

Mabel turned Dipper's jaw over to the direction of the door. His eyes fell onto Pacifica's solemn figure. His heart began to race again; accompanied by a slowly enveloping sense of regret.

"She's still within reconsideration distance…" Mabel tuned in even further.

Dipper grunted. He was going far against his own better judgment. Finally he stepped out into the entrance of the shack; taking a deep breath.

"Hey Pacifica!" he yelled over to her. She instantly turned her head; the expressing on her face made his heart sink. Without a second thought he yelled once more. "Lets go on that adventure!"

Almost instantly, Pacifica's expression livened up. In a spout of pure joy she jumped about, hooting in utmost happiness.

"Thank you Dipper!" Dipper was only able to see a flash of yellow and khaki as he felt her arms wrap around him all too familiarly. His body tensed at the suddenness of the gesture. It took him a few seconds to find his footing and by then she was off him; the slightest hint of a blush lay on her face. She cleared her throat. "Thanks."

The smile on Mabel's face could have ascended the heavens itself. The amount of giddiness that culminated inside of her could only be rivaled by all those times she'd had a crush on one of the guys of the town. With the smile not breaking an inch she walked over to her brother and tapped him on the side with her elbow. He sighed, knowing full well what was to come. He motioned over to the coat hanger near the concessions booth and retrieved his favorite, plain blue, sleeveless jacket. Equipping himself with literal knowledge; he slid both his journal and the author's journal into his jacket's pocket. He walked back over to Pacifica.

"Let's get going shall we?" he motioned towards the door.

"Lets." she replied; shooting a wide grin his way. He had no other choice but to smile back. He glance at Mabel.

"Comin' Mabel?" he asked.

"Pft! I don't wanna be third wheeling around on your date bro!" she joked. Before either one of them could get a word in, she continued. "Nah! Me and the girls have talked it over, and I think it's time I set foot into the fashion design industry."

"Ironic how the girl that doesn't know a good ensemble, when she sees one, would go onto designing fashion." Pacifica patronized. Mabel chuckled in the snootiest manner she could muster, as she approached her.

"My dear Pacifica, just wait and see." Pacifica raised a brow as Mabel reached onto her sweater and pulled out a sticker.

"PLOP!" Pacifica stared in bewilderment at the sticker now resting below her collar. "Just wait and see!"

Dipper let out a chuckle as Mabel disappeared into the shack much like a cheesy movie villain from the 90's. He smiled down to Pacifica who was fiercely struggling to remove the sticker off of her expensive shirt, but to no avail. Suddenly he began to snicker.

"Ugh! What so funny now?" she asked; letting the sticker be as it was.

"You even have the hat and everything!" Pacifica grunted in mild frustration; before ultimately succumbing to the joke. Since then and now, in the face of him, she feels only greatness.

* * *

Deep in the inner most vowels of the Mystery Shacks bathrooms sat a disgruntled Gruncle Stan during his mid morning escapade; finding it incredibly impossible to find the toilet paper. He uncomfortably shuffled his way down to the stock pile in the kitchen. His dismay grew larger, and his yells could be heard through the mountain tops.

"KIDS!"

* * *

A/N: Hey guys. I sincerely hope you enjoyed my first Gravity Falls fanfic. It was a lot more fun to write than most other things, and again I hope you guys enjoyed it. I plan on having the next chapter up in a few days; five tops. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.


	2. A walk among the leaves

The dark of the early morning finally began retreating back into the folds of the horizon as the sun poked out it's bright sides. The dampness, caused by the overnight mist of water, slowly subdued as well; leaving a sleek coat of natural gloss over the tops of plant pedals and tree bark. Despite the sudden infringement of sunlight, the temperature around the forest remained at a cool constant. The perfect conditions this particular outing.

Dipper couldn't help but admire the scene as it laid out in front of him. He wasn't sticking to the _**Mute Protagonist** _ role as a way of slyly dodging a conversation with Pacifica; who, surprisingly, also kept the verbal exchange rate between them low. He wasn't necessarily appreciating the silence, but it wasn't warranting any trouble either. As it stood he was merely gazing over the forest; sincerely smitten by _**Lady Nature's**_ display. It was a welcomed distraction from the chaotic going-ons of his summer home. It also served as a quality setting to get his mind wondering. A chance for him to sort out his thoughts. Which at the moment were not at ease.

He figured that they weren't in any kind of rush and that this might even let him think up an _**Adventure.**_

Unsurprisingly, he pondered the circumstances that brought him here today.

"Pacifica Northwest." Dipper thought. The way she spoke with him and Mabel earlier. She showed very few signs of hostility; if not for his sister's teasing of her strange new _**Get Up**_. Her request for an _**Adventure**_ wasn't imposing much aside from some reluctance on his part. When defeated she didn't gave off any sent of spite. After he agreed she instantly lit up, thanking him, and even- well- acting in an unexpected manner.

"Pacifica." Her name flashed through his thoughts again. Even that carried a new found weight in sentiment, that was radically different from nearly all initial impressions. Dipper's mind suddenly began over flooding; trying to think up a reason on why this was so. The last time they spoke was during the night of the party.

His heart rate began tapering off into the faster end; as it did earlier.

He thought back to that night. How he had effectively seen a new side of Pacifica. A side he was able to sympathize with. A side that he heavily preferred and one that drew him to her in a way he would've never saw coming. During the whole _**Haunting Fiasco**_ she had not only stood up to her image reliant parents but redeemed the Northwest family name. At least in her case.

She gave him a friendly wave as the party came to a close. The following week, however, he saw her very little; only catching a glimpse of her overly propped hair as her family's car drove by or while she'd be with her friends. On these times he would get the sudden urge to walk over and strike a conversation but immediately decide against it; fearing that their new found amity extended only within the confines of the night of party. The week after that, and prior to the current one, promised a scarcer chance of them meeting up as they would cross paths only twenty minutes from now.

His mind sped through these events on a constant loop; each time making him feel slightly uneasy. An empty feeling suddenly arose from his stomach as he thought of his current situation once more.

Why is he thinking about all these things anyway? All he needs to do is accommodate Pacifica's wishes, so she wouldn't bother him again. That's what he wants... right? Why should he even try very hard to please her? It isn't like she's going to make it up to him, or even acknowledge his existence after this is all done. Why should he care anyway?

He shouldn't. Yet, he does-

 **SNAP!**

"Earth to Dipper!" Dipper's thoughts came crashing to a halt. He took a moment to gather his surroundings, which were not the same as before. He turned to face Pacifca; who was snapping her fingers while making waving gestures. He replied with a surprised expression.

"You landed Buzz?" she joked.

"Yeah- I mean- ugh, what happened?" He asked; scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well, after a rollicking good round of sight seeing, you began speed walking in silence for about five minutes." she deadpanned; standing arms crossed.

"Uhm- I was just thinking- of what kind of adventure we should go on." he laughed with the same sheepish demeanor.

"And?" she lowered her arms; seeming more alert.

"I got nothin'." he simply shrugged. Pacifica's head slumped down; her palm firmly planted on her forehead.

"Aren't you supposed to be a young **_Boy_** _ **G**_ _ **enius**_ or something like that?" she asked with an overwhelming tone of sarcasm in her voice.

"Hey! The super natural basically gravitates toward me!" he reasoned in his defense; arms flailing to the side. "I figured the adventure would come to us."

Pacifica let out a sight as she walked up to Dipper. His body tensed up as her finger gently poked the spot where he had stored the Journals.

"Can't you find something in your _**Encyclopedia of The Strange?**_ " she asked; letting her hand rest atop her hip in the way all females seem to do. Showing off who is indeed right.

"You've got a point." he sighed in a defeated tone. She smirked, victoriously, as he reached into his jacket to pull out one of the books. Just then her face of triumph changed to that of curiosity. She noticed that the book he was holding was not the same one she had seen prior. This one looked much neater and new. She tilted her to get a better view of what the cover said. She smiled as she read the tittle.

"Dipper." she read aloud.

"Yeah?" Dipper's eyes shifted from the pages of the book and onto her's. Her smile fell as she quickly became alert; waving him off.

"You- wrote your own journal?" she asked through an awkward laugh.

"Yeah. It was Mabel's idea." he chuckled. She fallowed suit; dying down quicker than him.

As his eyes drew back to the pages of his journal her smile dropped to a frown. She eyed him uneasily. Thoughts of all the lousy things she had said and done to him and his sister lingered through her mind; giving her a feeling she hadn't had since she woke up this very morning. A feeling of regret that she wasn't entirely entitled to. A tingling feeling at the pit of her chest, which cast a sense of emptiness about her.

She felt this as she snuck through and out of her home; on the walk over to Mystery Shack which seemed to last a lot longer than she'd hope. She felt the same feeling as she stood, frozen, in the door way to the twin's home; unknowing if she even possessed the nerve to look both of them in the eye. It was the fear of not knowing which way they could possibly react to her unannounced appearance. It was this very fear that was instantly shattered, at the sight of their joyed faces. Broken, as they spoke with her as if they'd been friends all summer. Reversed, as Mabel jokingly plastered the vibrantly colored sticker on her shirt. And effectively omitted, as Dipper agreed to her request and they took off on the adventure. The feeling, although faint and mostly pacified now, still jarred her. She never formally apologized, to either of them, after all.

She inhaled deeply; trying to bring some levity to her mind in disarray. She walked around Dipper and stood beside him.

"Anything?" Pacifica asked; peering into the scriptures of his journal. He flipped diligently through the pages. In between, somewhat, lavishly drawn creatures and structures along side their short descriptions were pages full of only writing. She assumed this is where he chronicled his own encounters. The pages stopped flipping at that moment.

"Well, how keen are you on proving your manliness to a bunch of overly-testosterone filled minotaurs?" he asked. She was thrown entirely for a loop. With the tone he said it, she'd think he was serious. She chuckled.

"I don't think so." she crossed her arms.

"Yeah. On second thought, those guys would probably flip their script if I showed up there again." he laughed off as he flipped to the next page.

"He wasn't kidding..." she mused.

"How about we track down the _**Lavendel Gedrocht**_?" he asked in hushed tone; motioning his fingers in a cliche'd spooky manner.

"The what?" she asked; understandably puzzled.

"Supposedly, this creatures lurks through the deepest most dangerous neck of the woods; intentionally avoiding encounters of any kind. It is said to be mostly harmless until, that is, it's provoked." Pacifica tuned into to Dipper's description of the creature; actually feeling somewhat of the creeps. "If someone or something draws too close, the creature will instantly spray an extremely pungent gas said to smell of an overwhelming amount of lavender."

Dipper could feel Pacifica's confounded glare bore a whole through his side. He chuckled.

"C'mon, think of the recognition we could get for capturing this elusive beast." he carried on with the notion; waving his arm in the air like a banner. " _Young genius explorer and his, **most likely,** blonde sidekick reveal the existence of one of nature's most revered creatures_!"

"I think the rest of the world and I would react similarly to what basically amounts to finding an oversize **A** **nti-Skunk**!" she began; mimicking the same motions as him. " _World shows major indifference on presumptuous jumbo nerd and dashing adventuress extraordinaire with naturally beautiful hair's, unimpressive find!"_

"Hilarious. So that's a no on that." he said sarcastically. Pacifica continued to watch as he flipped through the next few pages. Most of the pages that fallowed, already, had a neatly written _**Uncovered**_ on them. After a few more flips came a page that completely stumped her. She was about to question it but Dipper had already flipped the page, much quicker than the others. She found this odd. To her it just seemed like a bunch of nondescript shapes and lines, resembling a maze of some sort. She shrugged it off when something else caught her eyes. Without thinking, she held her hand out in front of a certain page.

"What about this?" she asked. He was caught off guard by the action. Taking a moment to collect himself; he skimmed the page.

"Oh- that's just some under ground cavern rumored to hold some kind of important artifact-" he explained; before being cut off.

"Let's go there." she looked yearningly over to Dipper.

"Alright- let me get this straight- you denied the search for an uber-cool monster in exchange for a scavenger hunt?" he asked unconvinced.

"That's right." she nodded matter-of-factly.

"Well, you're the boss." he sighed; looking at the map that was drawn onto the page. "I haven't even been to this part of the forest."

"Are you forgetting that I came prepared." she boasted. He leaned, arms crossed skeptically, on a tree. "Ugh, just look."

She reached for the satchel that she had on hand. Dipper had scene it earlier but just assumed she was going to show it off later. She propped it forward and unlatched the top. Dipper's eyes suddenly lit up at the display. Pacifica smirked slyly.

"Twenty eight day supply of condensed food powder," she began. "Minuter water purifier, bandages, surgical sutures, antibiotics, clothe, a personal Northwest Emergency Global Locator, gas monitor, hand held lantern, and finally a twelve gauge flare gun."

"Wait." he stopped her on that last one. "Isn't that kind off dangerous."

"I like to think of it as more of a, last ditch _,_ precautionary measure. Besides, I doubt we'll even take out." she reassured him. "So... what do you think Pines?"

"I have to say Northwest, I am impressed. It's definitely better than my **_precautionary measures_**." he remarked. Pulling out a single band-aid and a couple of rubber bands from his jacket pocket. They both shared a laugh.

Dipper stepped off of the tree; journal ready. "Well, if that's it, then I guess were off."

He shot a determined smile her way. Unsurprisingly, she shot it back two fold.

"I guess we are."

* * *

The dull glow of the florescent ceiling lights cast a drab image upon the board room floor. It's attendees all shared a similar face of unremitting boredom and a lack of impression from the daily round of aspiring entrepreneurs. The CEO of the meeting let his head slump haphazardly over his arm as he fought the urge to dive into slumber.

He groggily called out to his secretary through his intercom.

"Bring in the next bunch." he spoke; motioning between yawns. One of his confidants spoke up.

"Mr. Barrygordy I heavily advise against seeing any more pitchers. At least for today." the young man reasoned. Mr. B rubbed the bridge of his nose; fighting on an incoming head ache.

"Truman I can safely say, speaking for every one, when I say _we can go without seeing anyone else_. But we are a business- running deep in bankruptcy- but a business none the less. Even if it takes all day, we'll listen, laugh, and turn down as many ideas as possible. As long as it means we can churn out an honest dollar at end of it. Now I suggest you sit back down so we can get this show going!"

The rest of the attendees give a halfhearted nod to their boss; turning their seats over to next young bright minded idealist about to barge in. Their faces of shock were met equally among themselves as the door finally swung open.

Before them stood an impossibly young lady; garbed in a strange amalgamation of wool and plastic stickers meshed together onto a bright pink sweater. The young woman wore dramatically large oval glasses leading into an almost ridiculous updo. Along side her were what could be described as her **_associates_**. Both of whom were equally as young. The larger associate carried a strange rectangular device while the ladder, much smaller associate, carried a large tube of sorts.

The young woman climbed up on the table. To the quickly subsiding shock of the boardroom; the young woman carried on. With a snap of her finger, the larger associate pressed one of the buttons on what they now knew was a boom box.

Suddenly the room became lit with loud blaring music. A mix of deep tones with exaggerated precaution, alongside a bewildering amount of noise akin to that of a fax machine. The young lady began strutting down the table; showing off the sweater.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you?!" shouted Mr. Barrygordy through cupped ears. The young lady pulled out a small business card and handed it to him.

"Ms. Vandelay?!" he shouted; perplexed. "The latex salesman?!"

The young woman crossed her arms in a disappointed manner. With another snap of her finger came up her smaller associate. She aimed the tube dead at Mr. B.

"We also deal in wools and lennons!" she deadpanned in a heavy Korean accent.

Before he knew it, a pink amorphous blob came barreling out of the canon. Mr. Barrygordy looked, wide eyed, onto himself; a perfect fitting sweater now strewn onto him. The plushness of said sweater almost sent him into a state of pure euphoria. The young lady smirked as she snapped her fingers once more. Her smaller associate began pelting the rest of the boardroom with sweaters from the canon. The boardroom erupted in a frenzy; dancing along to the electronic music.

The young woman crossed her arms triumphantly.

"Sweet success..." she chuckled through a braced grin.

* * *

The radiant glow of the mid day sun shown through several conjoined tree branches; casting beautiful rays of light along the forest trail. Such a sight didn't seem faze Pacifica, however, as the blonde had had quite enough of this aimless strut through the woods. She glared over to Dipper, who was nose deep in his journal. She spoke up.

"How're we doing captain?" she asked through a sarcastic cadence.

"I think we're just about there." he said with and overly optimistic tone.

It became clear, about half way into their trek, that he had little to know hold on the location of the cavern; let alone their own location at this point. Pacifica was sure that they had passed the same oddly shaped tree about five times by now. She sighed.

"Alright, on a scale from slightly to helplessly, how lost are we right now? Because I'm thinking helplessly." she asked condescendingly. Dipper shot her a slight glare.

"We're not lost." he reasoned. She crossed her arms; looking at him skeptically. "This place is just really well hidden."

"How do you know we're even going the right way?" she asked, through furrowed brows.

"Hey, give me some credit here, I've interpreted this map to the best of my ability." he replied defensively.

"To the best of your ability?" she sneered. "Make that a helplessly lost then."

"We're not lo-" Dipper was cut off by the sudden appearance of a tree branch he did not seem to notice before; running head first into the great oak's limb. Pacifica held in the urge burst out in laughter as Dipper squirmed about the ground; trying to shake off twigs and few stray spider webs. She felt of pang of pity for him as he struggled. She chuckled as she knelt down to his level.

"Here." she said; offering her hand. Taking it; she lifted him off of the ground and began brushing off the mess from his head. She held in another laugh; catching the smallest hint of a redness on his cheeks as she carefully removed the spider web from his face.

"Thanks." he piped up between a cough. She shot him a cocky grin as he reached for his journal; sighing. "Alright we may or may not be lost."

"See. Was that so hard?" she motioned sarcastically. He replied with a defeated grunt.

"I don't understand." he began; pointing at the map in the journal. "This is the spot where this thing is supposed to be. Instead we get this dumb tree!"

Suddenly the ground under them began to give way as the oak tree let out a low rumbling; it's bark glowing a subtle blue. The grass and dirt around them sunk into a hole which had unexpectedly appeared from beneath the tree. Before they knew it, Dipper and Pacifica fell victim to the maelstrom as they too began to sink into the darkness. It quickly became overwhelmingly dark as they slid through a winding tunnel. Dipper flailed his arms frantically through the darkness. His heart skipped a beat as his arm grazed what felt like hand. He clutched it at the speed of light; bringing the form closer. The smooth metallic ground beneath them finally seemed to flatten out as their ride came to a halt. He rubbed his head which had began to ache slightly.

He looked about him. To his dismay, where ever they had ended up, it was completely dark. He raised himself off the ground and slid his back on the wall behind him. He took note of the figure beside him; his arms tightly wrapped around it.

"Pacifica?" he asked just a hint too worriedly. He was reassured as she responded with a groan.

"That was thoroughly unpleasant." she answered through a shaken voice.

"Definitely no Wonder World ride that's for sure." he joked. Her chuckle was cut short as she noticed the position they were in. With a subtle grunt from her, Dipper also took note and quickly released his grip around her. After a silence that may have lasted a tad too long, Pacifica spoke up.

"This must be the place I assume." she observed.

"Even if it was, it's too dark to make anything out." he said, frustrated, as he could barely see his own hand in front of him.

"Here's the part where you applaud me Pines." she boasted with a chuckle as she pulled around her satchel. After a few seconds of rummaging through it she pulled out an item. A spark flickered inside her hand held lantern before lighting up entirely. Suddenly the impenetrable darkness around them scurried away at sight of the incandescent glow.

"Woah, Awesome Pacifica!" he praised. Her face gleamed with content; rivaling that of the lamp. "Get a load of this place."

Dipper walked about the space now that he could see. He gazed at the structures around in some state of fixated awe. It had been as if they warped into some kind of alien space craft. The walls, although covered with dirt and leaves, displayed glyphs of unknown origin; resembling that closest to ancient native american scripture. These markings glowed with a dim blue as it contrasted the chrome wall and floor in which they were inscribed on. Pacifica was caught in a similar state of awe. She illuminated the rest of the chamber as they walked around it.

"Dipper take a look at this." she motioned with her lantern. Dipper, closely behind, looked at what she was pointing at. All of the glyphs seemed to point toward a certain point on the wall. The point being a circular slab with further inscriptions on it. The inscriptions revolved around an eight figured polygonal shape. In it's center was, oddly enough, what looked like a mouth.

A feeling of dread graced Dipper at that moment. It was short lived but enough to raise notice. He shrugged it off, however, as he reached for his journal which he had picked up a few moments prior. He flipped through the pages until he reached a page which was littered all through out with codes and glyph wheels. He found the one that closely mirrored the wheel on the wall and held up the journal.

"I think this might be the knob to some kind of door. If we can crack the code, using the glyphs on the wall, we can make it inside. It might take hours to decipher these ancient scripts-" Dipper eyes widened as the wheel began to turn. The wall parted down the middle to reveal a corridor. Dipper looked, baffled, to his right.

"Or we can pull this handy lever." Pacifica said; giggling at Dipper's confused expression.

"We could do that." he shrugged; trying to brush off his earlier rambling.

Pacifica walked up next to Dipper and shown the light through the corridor. The light seemed to fear this stretch as it barely illuminated it. It was noticeably difficult to see any further than four feet ahead of them.

"Well, the adventure's awaiting" Pacifica motioned toward the entrance. Dipper hesitated.

"Hey Pacifica. You know we could probably climb back up the tunnel, if you'd like. It's not to late turn back." he grimaced. "This might not be all that safe."

"Are you crazy! We've come this far and I'm seeing this thing all the way through to the end!" she replied confidently. Dipper couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah you're right!" he agreed cheerfully. "Onward we go.

They shared a look as they traversed through the threshold of the corridor. Sticking unknowingly close to each other they made their way into the darkness; braving forward onto their adventure.

* * *

A/N: "He said five days right? I think not." With all sincerity I apologize to you guys for this horrifically late update. With some issues that needed resolving I come to you head strong. Thankfully this new year of school has kicked me into high gear. I decided to drop my fear of my the being undermined by any new episodes of the show; figuring that this story will serve it's purpose as it's own standalone work. Even if it strays from the path of the show. Which it doesn't really, but one can never truly know what is to come. With that I leave you, until the next update. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoy.


	3. A hand to hold- in the absence of light

Dipper wasn't one to fear something as simple as the darkness. Yeah monsters, creepy crawlers, phantoms, and maniacs alike siege the darkness; using their prey's fear of the unknown to ultimately catch them. Dipper was most definitely aware of this. Yet, he never truely developed the irational fear.

Why then does his heart seem to beat in a much heavier tone? Why is his back tense and the hairs on his neck on ends? Why is this dark, the same dark as any other in the past, so mind hauntingly frightening. This darkness was almost palpable as it ate away the light, which now glowed a dim hue of yellow, from Pacifica's lantern.

Dipper glanced back to her. He concidered the look on her face. A look that didn't show any hint of fear, but the slightest bit of nervousness. A subtle rise in tension began growing bewtween them; seemingly spurred on by the unnerving blackness around them. Either way, Dipper was not enjoying it.

He decided to speak up and break the silence. "How're you doing back there?" He asked through an anticipated smile.

Her face tilted in his direction as their eyes met. "Just admiring the immaculate tapestry of our local, terrifyingly dark, carvern!" She said in a playfully sarcastic tone.

Dipper chuckled. "One of the greatest breath taking sights of Gravity Falls- second only to the fabled Mystery Shack..." Dipper added through a mystified grin.

"Leave it to a run down, old, antique shop to rival a dark, empty and possibly evil grotto." Pacifica snorted skeptical.

Dipper raised an eyebrow at her. She replied with a sly look and a knowing smirk. They both shared a laugh; the miniscule tension between them now nonexistent. Surprisingly enough, the infringing darkness also seemed to let up as another source of light shown dimly at the end of the corridor.

"Well spooky tunnel, I guess this is good bye." Dipper said through a joking weep.

"It was nice, but we probably won't call." Pacifica added; shrugging at the fact. They shared another laugh as the source of light was now within clear view.

The source of light seemed to emanate from a large trapezoidal-like entrance. Bright, almost glowing, plasmic blue water poured through cracks in the base and ceiling of the entrance. Glyphs, similar to the first chamber, decorated the entrance's surface; adding to the overall _anciant_ yet _futuristic_ feel of this place.

Dipper walked over to the spouts of water and examined them. He ran his hands through them; feeling slight comfort from the chilled water. He took a moment to contemplate something. "This place must run under the lake." He sudgested aloud; turning over to her.

Pacifica considered the idea; feeling slightly uneasy at this new development. "Is that bad a thing?" She asked through a concerned look.

Dipper took note of her unease and quickly added to his earlier statement. "Not necessarily! Given we don't triger any large scale seismic activity..." He trailed off; eying Pacifica's unchanged expression. _That probably wasn't helping._ He thought.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts and come up with something to set her concern at ease. He turned over to her with a face of determination. "Look... just don't wurry about it, okay? I won't let anything crazy like that happen." He reassured.

She gleamed at him thankfully. This sent his nerves on overdrive. "Right! So this has to be where this artifact is hidden." He said abruptly. Looking over to the entrance.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Pacifica asked as she shot him another smile; letting her hand grace his back as she passed along side him. She couldn't help but laugh inwardly as his nervousness bacame less and less subtle. She pondered the implications of her effect on the young man. This didn't last too long, as they laid their eyes through the entrance.

Dipper and Pacifica gaped astonishedly at the sight before them. It was an even larger chamber than the one prior; half broken columns propping up the entire structure. The room was round in nature- an elliptical sphere with a dome-like ceiling. The bright blue water that merely leaked earlier, flowed from non distinct ducts in the walls and onto deep elaborately designed pools that dug into the ground. The scene before the pair quickly cemented the fact that this entire place could not possibly be native the this planet. Dipper and Pacifica felt this somewhere within their collective subconscious, but the explicit beauty and design of the chamber set their inquisitive minds on cruise control.

"Compared to the Mystery Shack? I think this place took the cake." Dipper said through an awestricken wide-eyed expression.

"Who do you think built this place?" Pacifica asked as she stepped into the chamber. She sat her lantern near the bank of one of the pools; letting the light shine through in order to catch a glimpse of anything that might hide within the dense water.

"Journal doesn't say anything." Dipper replied as he marveled at the large embroidery that lay etched into the reflective columns.

The pair's attention suddenly drew to the center of the chamber where a pillar of water, seemingly just floating ther, stood.

Dipper stared at the pillar with a baffling sense of curiosity; the question that seemed to burn in him the most being, _what exactly is this place_? He continued examining the gravity defying water pillar, until his heart began beating faster suddenly. A rich primal sense came over him then. Something akin to how he felt when he fought the Multi-Bear or when he leaped into the giant Gideon mech and embarked on a full out _fisticuff_ with the evil child piloting it. His mind began contemplating deep and philosophical thoughts entirely on it's own and without Dipper's concent.

A voice somewhere in the back of his head spoke abruptly. "What will you do after you've rid the world of mystery? Can you uncover it all, when you can't even realize your own feelings? What would you give up to save them? Her? She's been staring at you the entire time..."

Dipper felt a jolt of electricity shock it's way through his neck as haunting scenarios began playing in his head. It was as if his consciousness checked out for the moment; which at this point could have been an eternity. A feeling of urgency came over him then as he clenched his fists. Something was jacking his thoughts and he wasn't very well going to allow what ever it was to continue. He took a hesitant but determined step toward the pillar.

"Dipper, are you alright?" Pacifica questioned uneasily; reaching out to him. After she had finished marveling at the chamber, she noticed Dipper idly staring off into the strange water pillar. She called out his name a few times but he failed to answer. She grew concerned when he began breathing heavily and clenching his fists; walking over to the pillar.

Suddenly, Dipper reached into the pillar; breaching the plasmic water. It seemed to repel and writh, as if it were living, at his touch. His hand traveled easily through pillar and clutched something that was inside. The water lost all it's bright color as soon as he pulled his hand away.

"Dipper, what are you-" She was cut off as he turned around quickly; gasping for air. "What's happening?! Are you okay?!" She asked frantically; grasping his arm in concern.

"Never... better..." He chuckled exhaustedly. The voices had subsided as soon as he reached into the pillar. The thoughts had also seemed to let up; allowing him to return to his usual relatively calm state.

Pacifica took a deep breath of relief as her nerves had also calmed down. "You scared me half to death with that whole _catatonic_ act!" She yelled, half heartedly, angrily; the previous relief still present in her demeanor.

Dipper scratched the back of his head; chuckling awkwardly. "Sorry about that." He apologized through an inocent smile. A smile she could not possibly stand a chance against.

Pacifica's relief had given way to curiousity as she looked at what he held in his hand. He seemed to keep it slightly hidden from her sight. He grinned at her. "Looky what I found." He said as he opened his hand; revealing the object inside.

She eyed the object strangely as she examined it further. It was a simple and slim eight-sided, light blue-green, crystal about the size of her palm. It was translucent in substance. Definitely purely cut and without a nick. Yet it made Dipper's hand look distorted and blurred as she looked into it.

Pacifica, in her day, had seen more jewelry than she'd care to admit to. It was the norm for a young girl born into riches and spoils. She had received her first set of full diamond earings at the age of two. Suffice to say, she's been exposed to the beauties that earth naturally produced. However, this crystal was something more. "Can I hold it?" She asked; looking at Dipper.

He took a moment to let her features rest in his sight. Her eyes, in this light at least, seemed to pierce through him like the brightest blue star. It would've unnerved him at any other instance but as it stood, he could only feel the jump in his chest as he continued to eye her shiny blue orbs. Exited breaths had escaped his lips. He quickly darted his eyes away from hers and held out the crystal. "Of course you can." He said a little too softly as he placed the crystal on her hand.

Pacifica held the crystal close to her eye as she investigated it more thoroughly. She let her fingers run along the length of it. _It's so smooth_. She thought; looking at Dipper, who glanced away as she did so.

"It's beautiful." She said, almost reluctantly as she handed him the crystal.

"Yeah..." Dipper trailed off as he watched her expression change to one he wasn't all to happy about seeing. He felt a fluttering feeling in the pit of his belly. One that he was familiar with: the proverbial _**butterflies**_. He glanced at the crystal, now in his hand, and let his mind race with sudden ideas. "Hey Pacifica. Mind giving me some of that suture string and a peice of cloth?" He asked suddenly.

She furrowed her brows curiously. "What for?" She asked.

"You'll see." He replied vaguely; a maliciously innocent grin on his face.

She gave him a skeptical look, before setting down her lantern and reaching into the satchel. Pulling out the materials he requested, she gave them to him. She watched as he turned away from her and began tinkering with the crystal.

"Pines?" She called out; raisng a brow as he merely chuckled.

"Just a sec." He replied.

After a couple of minutes he turned back around to face her; holding his hands behind his back. "You said it was beautiful..." He began; showing a knowing face of concideration. "That's why I think you should have it." He reasoned; pulling out his hands.

After the intial surpise, Pacifica couldn't help but let a smile creep through her lips as warmth rose up in her chest. She looked at his present: a makeshift bracelet; the crystal bound in the middle by the cloth and sutures.

"I know Mabel's probably the one with the better artistic skill..." He reasoned through a snobby chuckle.

"You're awesome." She said wholeheartedly; grinning an unfathomably happy grin at him.

Dipper fought the auspicious sense of acomplishment deemed onto to him by his blonde friend. The same blonde friend who he once, long ago, thought would be too rich and spoiled to even concider him or any gift that hadn't had a billion dollar price tag. The same friend that sent a flush of warmth through him by the simple act of a smile. The same friend who had gotten a bit closer to him. "Do you mind?" She asked as she parted her hair slightly.

Dipper felt his heart drop at that moment and became nervous again. He played it off through a chuckled; which sounded a tad too speratic to conceal his jitters. Especially with the slight blush that had settled on his cheeks. "Uh- of course not." He said. Lifting up the necklace over her head and letting it fall softly around her neck.

His heart could have burst out the seams right then and there as he tied the suture string into a knot. His hands had brushed against Pacifica's hair a few times. He couldn't help but think about how soft it felt; making him instantly reconcider his earlier ** _fake blode hair_** quip.

His situation wasn't helped as her knowing smirk and bright blue eyes were mere inches away from his own. _Darn her and her awesome face! She's doing this on purpose!_ he thought.

Finishing off the knot, he let his arms slip away from her. Something he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to do at this point. He watched her, a satisfied grin settling onto his face, as she beamed down toward her gift. She looked up to him with a smile that would end all smiles; sending another rush of warmth through his chest.

"Thanks Dipper!" She said; voice full of glee as she wrapped her arms around him.

 _That's it! It's over and done with._ Dipper thought. Between the flushing and rapid heartbeats, to nervousness and general good feeling he was getting, he was uncertain how he'd retain his composure this entire time. Yet, he managed to return her embrace and wrap his own arms around her; which, strangely enough, had made his nerves calm down almost entirely.

He felt her soft hair again, alongside her tender body. Which starkly contrasted heavily with his: rigid and callused. He felt a certain feeling that, in itself, felt foreign. It was something he was definitely not used to. It flowed through him like the rush of rapids. He could only describe this rushing feeling as ** _weirdly fulfilling_**.

Unfortunately, this feeling couldn't last **_t_** ** _hat_** long. Eventually, he released his grip around her. She followed shortly after; standing there, across from him. Their faces shared a furious shade of red and they couldn't help but laugh it off, through a whimsically awkward stare.

Their laugh had come to end, as the crystal from Pacifica's new necklace began to glow; pulsating in various hues and brightnesses. They both stared at eachother; a shared "Uh..." between them, as the crystal began levitating.

Dipper and Pacifica looked about them as the glowing water began to dim and the room suddenly became darker. From the crystal came an explosion of even more bright and luminescent colors. Rays shot out from it like a lazer light show. They began to move about in rapid succession; forming shapes and lines resembling, strangely enough, earth.

The lazer-grid earth then expanded in scale. Similar to how a GPS would zoom into a map. The grid expanded beyond North America; hovering over the north western region- magnifying into what looked like the state of Oregon and finally onto...

"Gravity Falls!" Dipper and Pacifica shouted; both in unison. They shared a look before turing their attention back to the display.

The image did just that- display their titular home; showing a landscape view of the town. A pulsing blip could be seen just under what appeared to be the town lake. They figured that blip had to have been them, just as Dipper speculated earlier.

"The crystal must be some sort of map." Dipper theorized; trying to comprehend the small object now around his friend's neck.

"Maybe..." Pacifica trailed off as she raised her hand. She let her finger touch the blip that indicated their location.

The image zoomed out; displaying the entire state of Oregon again. Blips, about ten or so, lay littered throughout the state.

"Woah!" They said, again in unison.

"Dipper." Pacifica called out to him. "I think this thing is some kind of locator."

"Definitely." He agreed as they continued to stare at the display.

Suddenly, as if on a shared neural link, they both held out their hands and placed them on a particular blip just outside of the town.

The ground beneath them began to shake, as their hands made contactact with the blip. The chamber began to oscillate like a spinning disk. The water from the pools shot up into the ceiling and wriggled into their respective ducts. A low thrumming sound had resounded heavily somewhere in the belly of the chamber; much deeper than where the pair had been standing. It quickly became evident that this underground cavern was some sort of machine capable of flight, as it began to rise; shaking and thrashing the ground above them.

"Uh... Dipper?" Pacifica called out to him in a shaken voice; trying reach over to him. He gave her a look that resembled her own: frightful.

Another tremor crashed through the machine's framework as a booming sound rang out. It was the sound of sputtering and failing engines.

The terror that the pair were feeling amplified as the machine shook catastrophically; feeling as if it had come crashing back down to it's original place.

Dipper's heart once again dropped, only this time it filled with dread as he heard Pacifica's frantic screams grow as the cavern collapsed. Large amounts of dirt and some boulders had broken into the once beautiful ceiling of the cavern. The awe inspiring glowing blue water faded out into murky gray liquid; obviously being exposed to the water from the lake.

Dipper wanted to call out Pacifica's name, know she was safe in this disaster, but found this quite troubling as a pulsating and throbbing pain on the back of head caused him to stammer around in the cavern; which had rapidly began darkening. He dropped onto the ground alongside a few more boulders. He took off his hat; running his hand over the back of his head. His eyes widened at the sight of his crimson stained hand. He let out a deep groan as he scanned the now silent darkness.

Dipper was able to dicern a faint light quickly drawing near; not entirely sure what it was. He felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him; the blackness around him grew even darker as his eyes began fluttering shut.

He took a sudden deep breath as familiar hands graced his face. His eyes opened to a bright golden blur. He blinked quickly; trying to get a clearer view. A familiar voice sounded through his ears.

"Dipper?!" He heard; not being clear headed enough to respond with a good enough answer.

He took a couple more deep breaths as his vision began clearing up. He squinted at the figure in front of him. A pale, frantically concerned, face amongst disheveled blonde hair and a lantern. At that momen, it was as if he had woken up from a horrid nightmare. He shot up from the ground where he laid; meeting with the vivid gaze of his friend.

"Uh... Pacifica?" He questioned through a groggy voice.

"Yeah." She answered; a sigh of relief escaping her lips. "Are you okay? This place came crashing down, and you weren't responding. And with all the rocks every where I thought that you-" Her voice haltered as she felt the lump in her troat.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little head ache..." He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head; regretting the motion as he winced. He drew his hand away. "Oh- that's right."

Pacifica glanced at his hand; heart thumping as she noticed the blood staining it. "What happened?" She asked through a soft and concerned voice.

"Must've been one of those rocks." He responded. "Hit me right in the dome." He joked. He stifled the laugh as he noted her serious stare. He felt a chill run down his back for moment.

Pacifica, without speaking, turned away from him and reached into her satchel. Dipper watched as she sifted through it's contents. She pulled out a role of bandages and a black bottle. The label of which, Dipper could not read, but he assumed it was the antibiotics she had mentioned. He stared at her inquisitively. She wore a face of unbreakable determination, he'd not seen on her since the miniature golfing incident.

"What are you-" He asked before being cut off.

"Dip your head foward." She said flatly. He gave her a quick look.

"Is that a joke?" He asked; pondering the notion. He quickly canned his snide remarks and responded to her comand; leaning foward and letting his head dip down.

"This might sting a bit." She warned in a much less stern voice.

Dipper didn't have enough time to react as the antibiotic liquid contacted the wound on the back of his head. He groaned through a deep and hourse voice; clenching his fists. It felt as if someone had taken a branding iron to back of his head. He let out a small incoherent wince; gritting his teeth. Somewhere in the hectic frenzy of pain he was undergoing, there was a moment of solace. He noticed it in slight delay, but when he was made aware of it, the warmth of a soft hand around his cheek in itself had almost subsided the pain.

"Relax. We're almost done." Pacifica said, softly, as she let her hand caress his face comfortingly.

Dipper gave her a quick glance before setting his head down again; slightly leaning into her hand. He had stopped clenching his fists; letting his entire body ease as Pacifica finished off applying the antibiotics.

Putting away the bottle; she began unraveling the roll of bandages.

Dipper simply waited as she began to wrap the bandages around his head. The pain he felt earlier was all but a dull tension at this point. Aside from the lingering sting of the antibiotics, he had felt content; mainly due to how nice Pacifica's hand had felt, as she settled him back down.

"Thanks." He said as he let out an overdue lax sigh.

"It's what I do." She shrugged jokingly. "How does it feel?" She asked; her features dropping at the mention of the injury.

Dipper shot her an appreciative grin; validating the fact without the use of any real words. "A lot better." He reassured reguardless. "You're the best."

Pacifica's mind was one of above avarage intelegence and understanding. Yet, as she sat there across from him, her mind had almost shut off listening to those words.

 _ **You're the best.**_ They echoed trough her thoughts several times. She recalled a time, not that long ago, where the same noodle armed, scraggly haired, pre-teenaged young man had said the exact opisite of that phrase. Back then, she had scoffed and laughed off his stone-hearted demeoner towad her. It was, after all, no skin off her nose what the male Pines twin thought of her. But the pitfalls showed themselve either way; her initial disposotion had long ago betreyed her and this was certainly not the case anymore.

 ** _You're the best_**. There they were again, those pesky words aranged in that pesky way. The fact made her truly question if they were even meant for her at all. She thought back to the events that've transpire in the adventure she made her new friend reluctantly go on. Aside from the perils of a deadly cavern, this outing had gone in a way she could've only dreamed of. She wondered if this whole day had been just that, a dream- she would wake up in her enourmous silk drapped bed, eat the most expensive breakfast sandwhich money could buy, and carry on an empty and begrudging life of the highest luxury; sopposed hapiness ensuing.

She would then sit back seat to her imposably comfortable limosine and drive around town to simulate social interactions with the townsfolk. She would catch the haphharzardly dressed teenagers, one with an outstanding personality and charisma- the other with a sheepish, yet, overly enlightened air about him; huge and genuine grins across their faces as they blast through the street on a shoping cart with magical soda pop strapped to the sides. Their band of rogid sixteen year old misfits would soon follow after them; laughing and yelling alongside them as the duo make way towards another crazy and imposible idea. She would see that and want to hop out of the car after the two, but it would be to no avail. Why would they ever want to agknoledge her?

Sure, she'd made some progress on getting on their good side, even earning a merit of sympathy from the one she'd least expect. But she would never risk the altercation. Her day would go on as would any other day.

Pretty soon the summer would end and she would have to go back and sit with same shallow and disinterested bunch of **_friends_** at lunch, and poke fun at the group of sci-fi nerds as they reinact their favorite scene from that movie she secretly really liked.

However, as she stared into the sheepish and enlightened hazel eyes of the afformentioned Pines twin, she knew that she would not say good bye to this day and call it a dream. It was real, and unravelled before her eyes. He was here, before her, and she would have to try as best she could to make sure their new friendship grew further and further- until she could repay him for making her feel the way she does; gunine hapiness between them both. Until then, she would have to start off with simple steps.

The silence that had elapsed between them as Pacifica idly stared into Dipper's eyes lasted, in his own words, rediculously long. He wasn't really complaining all that much. He too had been in an entranced state, mostly due to their exceeded destruction of the proverbial **_intimacy bubble,_** as her hand gently rested some where atop his own. But it had began teetering on the edge of concern for him as her features began changing in ways that made his heart heavy.

"Pacifica?" He asked. At that moment, desprately needing some comfermation that she hadn't entered some kind of magical entrapment.

Before he could ask her further, she broke free fron her philosophical trance and leaned in sevral more inches closer to him than he had rightly been ready for. "Dipper." She called.

He merely replied with a dumfound "uh..." as the space between their faces was all but not.

"I'm-" Her voice betrayed her as it tripped over what she wanted to say. "I- I'm sorry!" She said abruptly. Dipper was taken aback; eying her strangely.

"For what?" He asked; unbeknowingly drawing the gap between them even nearer.

She frowned; furrowing her brow. A few stray tears had escaped, unbeknownst, her. "All those dumb things that I did to you and Mabel! Being a general nusence! Lying to you! Making you spend time with me without-" He had drawn the line. He placed his hand over her lips; gently sealing them shut.

"There's no need to apilogize." He said flatly; the expession on his face seemed lost to her. She had made an attempt to interject as he removed his hand from her mouth.

"But I-" She began. He let out a chuchkle as he covered her mouth again. She too had succomb to the intention behind the act and let out a small laugh.

He removed his hand once more; looking into her eye as he spoke. "I forgave you for half of that a long time ago- and I don't even blame you for the other half." He cooed. "And I'll have you know, that I wanted to spend time you." He said, almost defensivaly, through a boyish grin.

Pacifica let out an excited breath as her heart skipped a beat. She glanced down to the necklace he had gifted her. "You're awesome..." She said shakilly; the slightest hint if a whimper in her voice.

He let a knowing smirk trail across his lips as he gently wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks. "I've been told." He laughed.

She followed suit; laughing along with him- feeling the release of pent up emotions.

Dipper found it hard not to admire her features as she laughed, or smiled for that matter, as her light pink ckeeks contrast her peircing blue eyes which glinted lightly from the tears she'd shed. He admired the way her lips trailled delightfully; shining slightly from some lip polish that she must've applied earlier today. He couldn't help but get his mind off them the most. He mused with pleasant thoughts of what he would do- what he could- what he wanted to do. His heart had begun to beat at that familiar faster pace; that similar primal feeling came over him as he took short and quick breaths.

Pacifica's laugh had died down slightly as she noticed Dipper staring at her with a fixated look. His eyes darted from feature to fearure; staying, notacibly, longer on her lips each time they'd lap around. She took a second to concider the notion; only now taking note of how close they had actually gotten.

She felt warmth rise quickly up to her cheeks as they flushed a heavy red. _Does he want to-_

Thinking about it seemed to make the blushing worse. She hadn't really ever formed a strong relationship of that calibor with a guy before, let alone kissed one. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand.

Yeah, she had a huge amount of apretiation for him- on some level her apretiation may have crossed the thin line into affection. But the longer she considered the notion, the closer she had unknowingly drawn to him- to the point where they were near inches away from each other.

Their eyes stared one last time into one another before they slowly drew shut. Their heads tilted ever so slightly as the distance between them had now been sealed. Their lips, partly open, ghosted from each other for a tidious moment. As if some kind of second thoughts still lingered somewhere in their minds.

A mischievous entity of some kind, maybe the god of unfurtunate events, sought to take advantage of this slight hesitstion; sending off one of it's foul minions in the form of a disruptive and overly loud buzzer sound.

The pure sudness of the sound alone made Dipper and Pacifica almost jump up from their collective euphoric daze. Their lips, along side themselves, parted; leaving a sense of vexation as they were forcively strewn from each other.

They looked at each other with a start. Not entirely due to the sudden alarm-like sound, but also pertaining partially to what had almost happened. Before any of them could dwell on it too long, a second buzzer-type sound peirced through the carvern.

"W-what is that?" Dipper asked through a stutter; still not entirely off of, the would be, coud nine just yet.

"Uh- I don't know. Let me check..." Pacifica suggested; abruptly moving from her position across from him.

She dug through her satchel; a firmly dicontent frown plastered on her face. _What_ _ever this thing is? I'm taking a bat to it!_ She thought angrily.

Dipper slummped back a bit; raising his hands over to his mouth. He felt his lips as his mind raced at a million miles a second.

Dispite this, one or two thoughts overwhelmed them all. Regret above all else- and the actual justifications for what he was about to do.

 _I could've kissed Pacifica Northwest._ Just thinking that sounded a bit off in his head. Yet, he truly wanted to then, and now. Even if the moment had been completely shatered.

Although, he had hesitated. One split second of his overly analitical brain betrying him and making him second guess. _You'll probably do it all wrong and she'll call you a dork! You've never even kissed a girl! Remember Mermando?!_ ' Malicious and strange thoughts, yes, but insecurities that his mind conjured up, non the less-

And then there was the matter of that darn...

The buzzer sound blared even louder as Pacifica pulled out what appeared to be the cause of it. It was a small, hand held, yellow machine with a dial and a tiny screen on the base; a narrow antenna stuck out slightly. A slim needle, on the tiny screen, rattled softly. An even tinier red light bulb glowed faintly; flashing at long, five second, intervals.

Dipper furrowed his brow trying to figure out what the device was, or was doing. "What is that?" He asked.

Pacifica stared at the device. She wore a face that Dipper could not decipher. "Its- the gas monitor." She said through a shaken voice; flipping a knob on the the device's side. The blaring buzzer sound promptly stopped.

"Woah. Wait, like a _**t**_ ** _oxic gas_** monitor?" He asked; feeling slightly jittery.

"Well- yes- it warns against toxic fumes or chemical gasses that might be hazzerdous." She said in his direction. She wasn't facing away from him, but her eyes seemed to avoid his.

"Well... is it bad?" He asked; straightening his back.

Pacifica looked back at the monitor. She tried to read the strange letters and arbitrary numbers that were printed onto the dial of the gauge where the needle lay. She noted that the small, ruler like, lines made their way from left to right; the final few on the right being a bright red color. She assumed those lines indicated when things would start getting **_hazzerdous._** Her features eased a bit as she turned back to face Dipper.

"The needle is pointing way over to the left." She explained; showing him the monitor. "I think it's safe to assume we'll be okay for a while."

The needle was rattling ever so slowly. It didn't seem as it move, even a notch.

Dipper concidered this for a moment. "That's good to hear. But, I still think it's about time we get going." He reasoned through an inquisitive gaze.

Pacifica nodded in agreement; putting away the monitor and any other loose peice of equipment. She stood from the ground and slid her arm through the strap of the satchel. Dipper attempted to stand, arching foward and lifted himself off of the ground with his arm, but stammered as some pulsating trace of a headache caused him to loose his balance.

Pacifica quickly stepped foward and braced him by the shoulders. "Woah there Wreckless. Let's try and take that a bit slower." She joked; aiding him up off the ground and onto his feet.

"Thanks." He said; shooting her a greatful look. She replied with a smirk as she slowly parted from him; making sure he could stand. He sighed as he took a few steps on his own. "If it's like this now, I'd hate to see myself at Stan's age." He joked.

They shared a laugh as they began making their way through the large debris. They made their way over to the entrance of the chamber which, surprisingly enough, still stood. Pacifica let Dipper step out in front of her. She figured, just in case he aimlessly stumbles over himself, she could catch him. They embarked into the familiar tunnel once more. Only this time, they both carried a different set disposotion from their earlier endeavor. However, they still unknowingly drew closer to eachother as they made their way through the tunnel.

* * *

The town of Gravity Falls, dispite popular belief, had been dull. At least pertaining to this particular day. Stores weren't all that teeming with the usual frantic crowd of shoppers, even with the approach of the new school year. The homely coffee shops which was once a paradise to the scarf waring, neck bearded, pop culture referencing hipster, were barren and save for the bored employees, empty. It appeared that seemingly everyone had up and vanished.

This fact made the sharply-dressed young woman slightly agitated. She paced around one of the benches of the twon square where they had set up a quaint little establishment; her beautifully designed sweaters on coat hangers and T-shirt canons alike. Her two confidants sat beside the makeshift shop; drinking away some freshly brewed coffee and gawking at this week's **Hip-Phresh Teens** magazine. The two young women giggled at a particularly scandalous inquiry about the location of the next Swiss young men's swim team competition.

"How could you girls just sit there and gawk at dreamy foreign boys at a time like this?" The young woman asked through an irked frown.

"How could you not?" Asked the lager one of the pair; her loud and gruff voice sounding almost male.

"Yeah Mabel, those old guys said they'll be here soon-" Began the shorter ascociet, before being cut off.

"Shhh! Candy, someone might here you!" Mabel hushed.

"Oh right. Sorry, Ms Vandelay." She apologized through a knowing giggle.

Mabel had insisted on keeping the titular, Ms Vandelay, rouse going even after the board room meeting. She wanted to make sure that her rise to success in the fashion industry wasn't stymied by such things like ** _identity impersonation_**. What ever that means.

After the meeting had gone so well, Mr Barrygordy had offered her a promotional campaign regimen, free of charge, if she could stock up all of her fashion ware and meet them at the town square. She had hoped that while they waited for what ever the old guy was talking about, they could catch some onlooker's attention and lure then into checking out her clothesline. No such luck thus far. _Ugh what's with this place?!_ She thought; looking over the barren town.

Suddenly, something came rising up from the horizon.

"Girls look! Look!" She exclaimed eagerly.

Turning up on the other end of the street that faced them was a sight to be hold. A large parade float toted by a small golf cart began pulling into view. The float was embroidered heavily with bright pink colored sashes and silk puffs. Huge stereo systems sat far behind an equally large sign. _**Vandelay: Wools and Linens!**_ It read.

Mabel was positively enthralled with the display. _Now we're talking_. She thought, as the parade float drove in. "Alright ladies... it's show time." She said through an ethusiastic and determined grin.

Candy and Grenda nodded in agreement and dawned on their sunglasses; stern faces shared across the trio.

Stepping out of the golf cart was none other than the chair of the board himself, Mr Barrygordy. It was hard to recognize him through the bright pink, sticker ridden, sweater.

The old man greeted the trio. "Ms Vandelay. I hope these arrangements are to your liking?" He motioned toward the parade float. "We tried to aquire the most skilled artisans and carpenters to build it." He said eagerly.

Mabel responded with a simple and understanding nod of approval; snapping her fingers, Grenda hoisted up their entire miniature shop on her shoulders and began placing it on the float. Mr Barrygordy's eyes widened at the display. _Who are these people?_

He shook off his surprise; continuing where he left off. "With my campaign tactics and your odd methods of persuasion, there won't be a soul in this town that won't know the name Vandelay!" He yelled with triumphant determination.

Mabel nodded again in response as Grenda hoisted her and Candy up onto the float. She gazed onto the empty streets of the town; a smirk across her lips. _Gonna make it big... just wait and see._ She thought; loading up a hot and ready T-shirt canon with a sweater.

"Just wait and see!"

* * *

A/N: I give thanks to all of you who have been willing to bare with me as I slowly but surely crank these out. Huge appretiation to those of you who've reviewed. I hope you enjoyed my story so far and continue to enjoy what's to come. Stay tuned for more.


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